TAKE ACTION: Land Grab Bill Threatens America's Rainforest from EARTHJUSTICE 2APR12

THERE are just some areas of this country that should be left alone, untouched, wild, primitive. Look at the picture below and you'll agree the Tongass National Forest is one of these areas, it definitely should not be turned over to sealaska or any other corporation for clearcutting and / or development. Click the link to send Sec of Agriculture Vilsack a message telling him to save Tongass N.F. from sealaska and any other corporation!

TAKE ACTION! Land Grab Bill Threatens America's Rainforest
	Congress is considering a bill that would give away some of the best old-growth habitat in Alaska’s magnificent Tongass National Forest to the Sealaska Corporation for clearcutting. Take Action Today!
Right now, Congress is considering the fate of many of the finest stands of coastal temperate rainforest in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest—considered to be the crown jewel of the U.S. National Forest system. If passed, this legislation will hand over tens of thousands of acres to Sealaska Corporation for clearcutting and commercial development. Gone will be towering stands of trees as old as 500 years and as big as 10 feet in diameter—some of the richest prizes in this vast old-growth rainforest. Gone, too, will be the home they provide for eagles, bears, wolves, salmon and countless other species. Also harmed will be the many southeast Alaskans who live off these lands and waters for their subsistence lifestyles and livelihoods, and the many others from across the country who rely upon and visit the Tongass for world-class recreation, hunting, tourism, and sport and commercial fishing. Sealaska has already received over 290,000 acres of land from the Tongass in a previous Congressionally approved deal to settle native land claims that the corporation sought back in 1976. This current legislation (H.R. 1408 and S. 730) would change that deal and give Sealaska new and many of the best areas of the Tongass. Allowing this single corporate stakeholder to gain control and ownership of the most valuable areas of the Tongass undermines the Forest Service’s plan to transition out of old-growth logging and into more sustainable economic development through ecosystem restoration, fishing, and tourism. The proposed legislation also gives away numerous smaller parcels scattered throughout the Tongass, including popular anchorage areas, hunting and fishing hotspots, and many of the best sites that sit at the edge of wilderness areas, heads of bays, and mouths of salmon streams. Privatizing these sites for commercial development by Sealaska Corporation would restrict public access and jeopardize the number of tourism and outfitter businesses, sport and commercial fishermen, and local Alaskans and visitors who rely on the Tongass for their livelihoods and recreational enjoyment. Don’t let this corporate earmark legislation irreversibly harm the national treasure that is the Tongass. Join with us and urge the Obama administration to steadfastly oppose the legislation as the bills work their way through Congress. Please act now to save this magnificent place by sending this letter to USDA Secretary Vilsack—who oversees the U.S. Forest Service—asking him to protect the Tongass National Forest and oppose the Sealaska Corporation legislation. Sincerely, Rebecca Judd Legislative Counsel Earthjustice

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